Psychiatric Medications and Our Children

The Latest Threat to Children’s Health

For the past few years, there’s been a lot of talk about childhood obesity. It seems easy access to fast food, cutbacks in school phys ed programs, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle all play a role in childhood and adolescent weight gain. But something else may be contributing to this problem, according to a report in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. And that, the report suggests, is psychiatric medications.

Right now I’d like to share with you the report’s findings so you can share this information with others you know whose children may be taking these drugs.

First, some background

Children and adolescents that have been diagnosed with problems including aggressive behavior, tics, bipolar disorder, autism, or schizophrenia are frequently prescribed anti-psychotic drugs in an effort to control these problems when other efforts have failed.

Noticing that younger patients taking these drugs were gaining weight at an alarming rate, a group of researchers wanted to find out why. This newest study focused on 272 children and adolescents between the ages of 4 and 19 who were taking psychiatric medications for the first time.

The study was conducted over a period beginning in 2001 and ending in 2007. Participants were prescribed drugs including aripiprazole (Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), or quetiapine (Seroquel). Fifteen out of the 272 agreed to work with a doctor even though they had refused to take any of the drugs.

Studying children taking drugs for the first time is a key way this study differed from previous studies. Since there was no history of anti-psychotic drug use among any of the participants, their weight gain could not be attributed to an earlier drug-related weight gain, or a change in a participant’s body metabolism resulting from prior use of the drug. Both of these issues raised questions about the results from prior studies.


The findings

At the end of the follow-up period, an average weight gain of between 10 and 19 pounds was observed. Results also revealed that different drugs led to different amounts of weight gain. The largest weight gains were observed in participants taking Zyprexa, while those taking Abilify gained the fewest pounds. Additionally, it was observed that participants taking Zyprexa had higher levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides while those taking Seroquel also had higher triglyceride levels.

Interestingly, the least amount of weight gain, less than one pound, was observed in participants who took no drugs. What’s also been noted, outside this study, is that when taken off the anti-psychotic drugs, patients lost weight.

Is this enough to sound the alarm?

No but it’s enough for doctors, parents, and patients to take notice. While study results suggest the drugs do cause weight gain, it doesn’t explain why. Further longer-term study is needed to figure this out. One reason is the possibility that the drugs trigger carbohydrate cravings which can lead to overeating. And since the drugs act like mild sedatives, participants aren’t as active, so they burn fewer calories.

This is interesting stuff, and definitely some potent fuel for the debate as to whether children should even be taking such powerful medication.